Training Tip: So, what's the answer?
There you are taking the private pilot knowledge test when you encounter a question with no clear answer—and the clock is running.
You can:
A) Take a wild guess.
B) Go with an approximate or least-worst answer.
C) Move on to the next question and return to this one later.
Not all knowledge-test questions are created equal, however. Some require an exact response; others challenge you to select an approximately correct answer. For example, the current batch of sample private pilot knowledge test questions on the FAA website’s Training and Testing site includes this question:
(Refer to FAA-CT-8080-2H, Figure 35.) Determine the approximate manifold pressure setting with 2,450 rpm to achieve 65 percent maximum continuous power at 6,500 feet with a temperature of 36°F higher than standard.
A) 19.8 inches Hg
B) 20.8 inches Hg
C) 21.0 inches Hg
Sounds forbidding, but as you study Figure 35, you discover it is entirely based on 65 percent maximum continuous power and 2,450 rpm, and one of the chart’s three information panels gives data for a temperature of 36°F higher than standard.
That leaves you to figure out which of the three manifold pressure settings (with 2,450 rpm) offered as possible answers is the best match.
Common sense suggests that the manifold pressure of 21.0 inches hg given for 6,000 feet—the altitude closest to 6,500 feet—is best. However, the 20.8 inches hg for 8,000 feet isn’t far off.
So you do a little number crunching—that is, interpolating—and calculate that 20.95 inches manifold pressure is the expected manifold pressure at 6,500 feet. Answer: C.
Such questions are tricky, but at least they don’t contain information that could decoy you into committing a careless error.
Not the case with another type of question, like this one that requires a precise answer from a chart supplement airport listing.
(Refer to FAA-CT-8080-2H, Figure 52.) Where is Loup City Municipal located in relation to the city?
A) Northeast approximately 3 miles.
B) Northwest approximately 1 mile.
C) East approximately 7 miles.
You’ll find the correct answer right where it should be, in the position reserved for the airport location (see any chart supplement’s legend).
If you don’t know where to find that information, watch out, because the two incorrect answers also use values found in the airport listing.
